Apparatus having a dial calling function and operable to identify picture image signals not yet transmitted to a called selected destination party

ABSTRACT

An apparatus having a dial calling function for performing a calling operation from a calling party to a destination party selected to be called. An accumulator accumulates and stores picture image signals to be transmitted to the selected destination party, and an administration data forming device forms administration data concerning the transmission of the picture image signals. A printing device is responsive to the condition that all of the picture image signals stored in the accumulator means are not transmitted to a called selected destination party for causing the printer to print the administrative data and at least part of the picture image signals which have not been transmitted for identifying the latter.

This application is continuation of application Ser. No. 128,440 filedDec. 3, 1987, now abandoned which is a division of application Ser. No.812,465, field Dec. 23, 1985 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an apparatus having dialing means performing acalling operation based on telephone number data, and more particularlyan improvement in and relating to an apparatus such as a facsimileapparatus to print the administrative data and at least part of thepicture image signals which have not been transmitted between a callingparty and a called selected designation party in order to identifypicture image signals which have not yet been transmitted.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Facsimile apparatus having a dialing performance are now usedextensively. Among such facsimile apparatus is included a facsimileapparatus having abbreviated dialing functions. In such facsimileapparatus, the telephone number data of the facsimile apparatus ofcalled parties or offices to which calling is frequently made is storedpreviously and the stored data are converted into a read out selectionsignal (dial signal) by, for example, three key operations such as"#10". The selection signal thus formed is sent out to a telephone line(office line). This system enables calling without making a dialingoperation corresponding to the telephone number of the facsimileapparatus of a called party by using a telephone set which usestelephone lines in common which the facsimile apparatus. Thus, it isadvantageous that the number of mistaken telephone calls can be reduced,and the operation can be simplified. Even in a facsimile apparatushaving an ordinary manual dialing function instead of the abbreviateddialing function, dialing operation can be made by a dial provided inthe facsimile apparatus instead of using a separate telephone set. Thus,there is an advantage that the dialing operation can be made readily.

However, it is found that such facsimile apparatus as described abovehas the following disadvantages.

More particularly, most of the existing facsimile apparatus has simpletransmitting and receiving functions in addition to additional functionssuch as a copying function. In such facsimile apparatus, interruptioncannot be made for a central processing unit (CPU) that controls theoverall operation to perform a different operation by additionalfunction during transmitting and receiving operation. This is becauseduring the operation as a copying machine, a recording unit and a readout unit are in operation so that when an operator wants to effecttransmission and reception, the recording unit, the read out unit, adata bus, etc. are being used. Therefore, the CPU cannot permittransmission and reception operations. For this reason, an interruptionfor other operations is inhibited. In this case, even when the CPU isset in an automatic receiving mode, the telephone set and the telephonelines are connected to each other.

For this reason, when facsimile apparatus of a calling party receives acalling signal during the operation of an additional function, althoughthe telephone set connected to the lines generates a call tone, sincethe CPU of the facsimile apparatus inhibits interruption based on acalling detection (calling signal detection), it is impossible to effectan operation in accordance with a calling detection until the operationby the additional function is completed. As shown in FIG. 9, the callingdetection is made by detecting a call signal a which is an intermittentsignal of a predetermined frequecncy sent out from a telephone exchangeto the telephone lines, and each time a signal of the predeterminedfrequency is detected, a detection signal b is inputted to the CPU.Then, in response to this detection signal b, the CPU judges that thereis a calling signal. In FIG. 9, T₁ represents a period in which thesignal of the predetermined frequency appears (on period), T₂ a periodin which the signal does not appear (off period), and T₃ a period inwhich the call signal a is repeated. When the operation of theadditional function terminates at point A, as the detection signal b isinputted at that point (that is the H level), the CPU can effect callingdetection but at point B since no detection signal is inputted (that isat a L level), calling detection is impossible. Consequently, when acalling request is made by an abbreviated dialing operation, regardlessof the presence of the calling signal, the CPU will send out theselection signal after it has accessed the line. In other words, eventhough the state has changed to the receiving state, the callingoperation will be made, thereby causing abnormal transmission andreception which results in decrease in the efficiency of using thelines, decrease in the efficiency at the line of repeated operations,and decrease in the reliability of the apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedapparatus capable of improving the utilization efficiency of the officelines, reliability as well as operativeness of the apparatus byinhibiting at least the calling operation during an interval in which acall signal is interrupted so as to prevent "collision" of the receivingand calling operations.

According to this invention, there is provided an apparatus having adial calling function comprising dial means performing callingoperations to call an apparatus of a called party by sending out aselection signal corresponding to telephone number data to office lines,and inhibiting means for inhibiting the calling operation during apredetermined period after occurrence of a calling operation requestfrom the dial means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing and embodiment of the apparatusaccording to this invention;

FIGS. 2a and 2b are charts showing a communication sequence utilizingthe apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are a diagrammatic repesentation showing the relationbetween an administration table and files;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are a flow chart showing the receiving operation of theapparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5a and 5b are a flow chart showing the record output operation ofthe apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flow charts showing the transmitting operation of theapparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 shows one example of a recording table at the time of mail boxcommunications; and

FIG. 9 shows the waveforms of a calling signal a and a paging detectionsignal b.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of this invention shown in FIG. 1 comprises anoffice or telephone line 1 connected to a calling-talking signaldetection circuit 7 that detects calling and talking operations. To theoffice line 1, a telephone set 2 and a network control circuit (NCU) 4is connected via a transfer switch 3. The NCU 4 has functions ofstarting and restoring a telephone exchange such as central office, etc.sending out a dial signal, detecting the call signal and holding a loop.A modem control unit 5 and a modem 6 are connected to NCU 4. The modemcontrol unit 5 controls the modem 6 to effect a modulation anddemodulation of a signal between a bus line 70 and NCU 4. The modemcontrol unit 5 also acts as a path for exchanging data between NCU 4 andCPU 20. The modem 6 demodulates a signal outputted from NCU 4 and sendsthe demodulated signal to the bus line 70 via modem control unit 5.Further, the modem control unit 5 modulates a signal from bus line 70and sends the modulated signal to NCU 4. Furthermore, NCU 4 is connectedto a dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) signal receiving circuit 81 whichreceives and decodes a DTMF signal sent from the office line 1.

A decoder 10, an encoder 11 and a pattern generating circuit 12 areconnected to the bus line 70. The decoder 10 decodes and expands anencoded and compressed picture signal to convert the same into a picturesignal that can be used for recording. The encoder 11 encodes andcompresses (for example, MR, M² R, MH encoding) a picture signal thatcan be used for recording operation. The pattern generating circuit 12generates a character pattern (picture signal) of a telegram sent backto the facsimile apparatus of the called party in accordance with acharacter code given by the CPU 20. The bus line 70 is connected to buslines 40 and 50. The bus line 40 can pass a control data and a picturesignal. The bus line 50 passes only the picture signal and the bus line40 passes only the control data to a CPU 20. The CPU 20 controlsrecording unit 8, read out scanning unit 9, decoder 10, encoder 11,pattern generating circuit 12, RAM 13, DMA14, disk controller 61 whichare connected to the bus lines 40 and 50 as well as the modem controlunit 5, and NCU 4 which are connected to the bus line 70. The recordingunit 8 produces a recording output by receiving a picture signal thatcan be used for recording and is provided with a buffer memory devicefor temporarily storing the picture signal. The read out scanning unit 9photo-electrically converts a received picture image into a picturesignal which can be used for recording after eliminating noise andconverting into binary data. The RAM 13 has a relatively large capacityand is used to store picture signals that can be used for recording. TheDAM 14 transfers the picture signal under control of CPU 20. A disk 62is connected to a disk controller 61 which is connected to the bus line50. The disk controller 61 controls the disk 62 such that it stores thepicture signal and that the picture signal is read out of the disk 62.

Further, CPU 20 is connected to the bus line 90 which in turn isconnected to RAM21, ROM22, an operating unit 23, a driver 24, anautomatic dialling circuit 30, the DTMF signal receiving circuit 81, anabsence of paper and paper jam detection circuit 82. The RAM21 is usedas a working memory device of CPU 20, and ROM22 stores programs utilizedin CPU 20. The automatic dialing circuit 30 controls NCU 4 in accordancewith preregistered dial number data, thereby effecting a callingoperation. The operating unit 23 comprises a ten key or the like inaddition to such various function keys as a transmission key, a resetkey or the like and is used by an operator for inputting necessary data.A display unit 25 is connected to driver 24 which displays desiredcharacters by LCD26 of the display member 25 under the control of CPU20. The driver 24 controls lighting and extinguishing of LEDs 28-32. TheDTMF signal receiving circuit 81 sends to CPU 20 data based on a DTMFsignal received through NCU 4. The absence of paper and paper jamdetection circuit 82 is connected to a sensor, not shown, and inresponse to a signal produced by the sensor, the absence of paper andpaper jam detection circuit 82 sends a detected data to CPU 20. Inaddition to these data, the CPU 20 is supplied with a calling detectionsignal from the calling-talking signal detection circuit 7 based on thedetection of a calling signal and an off-hook detection signal inaccordance with a detection of a DC loop including the office line.

The facsimile apparatus having a construction described above canexecute a multiple address communication, a mail box communication,relayed multiple address communication, substitute receivingcommunication and a multicopy communication in addition to an ordinarycommunication with the facsimile apparatus of a called party. The termmultiple address communication means a sequential transmission of thesame picture signal to a plurality of called parties. The term mail boxcommunication means a system in which a box for storing a receivedpicture signal is provided and, when requested, to store a desirednumber in the box by the facsimile apparatus of the called party andthen when a perdetermined operation input is received from the owner ofthe box, the box outputs a recording output based on the picture signal.The term substitute receiving communication means a communicationwherein when troubles such as paper jamming and paper absence occurwhile a recording printing is being carried out immediately afterreceiving a picture signal, the picture signals after occurrence of thetroubles are stored and after disappearance of the troubles, theprinting based on the picture signal stored in a memory device can becarried out. Furthermore, the term relayed multiple addresscommunication means sequentially sending of a received picture signal toparties requested by the calling party. In the relayed multiple addresscommunication, there is a case in which a relaying office is designatedas a party to be called. The term multicopy communication means acommunication in which printing is carried out according to the numberindicated in the received picture signal, which is requested by thecalling party. The term single memory transmission means a communicationwherein when transmitting the picture signal to only one called party,the picture signal is stored in disk 62 and the stored picture signal isautomatically transmitted to the called party at a preset time.Accordingly, this communication is similar to the multiple addresscommunication.

During the communications of the type described above other than themultiple address communication, and the substitute receivingcommunication, the called facsimile apparatus sends to a calling partyinformation showing the type of communication and other necessaryinformation.

In one method, as shown in FIG. 2a the information is included in an NSSsignal (non-standard facilities setup) sent from the facsimile apparatus(transmitter T) of the called party. In the case of the relayed multipleaddress communication, the information necessary for this method is thebox number data, and in the case of the multicopy communication, a copynumber is sent. In any type of communication, called party dataindicated of parties to be called are sent. However, this called partydata may be ignored.

In another method as shown in FIG. 2 (b) , the called party facsimileapparatus is caused to send the information in accordance with the DTMFsignal. In other words, since the facsimile apparatus acts as a receiverR, it sends out a CED (called station identification) signal, a NSE(non-standard facility) signal, a CSI (called subscriber identification)signal and a DIS signal (digital identification signal). In response tothese signals, an operator of the transmitter T operates a dial key ofthe telephone set so as to send a desired DTMF signal. For example, itis predetermined that # 1 represents the mail box, * 1 repesent therelayed multiple address communication and that # 2 represents themulticopy communication. Then, the third and following digits enable totransmit a necessary information with digit keys. The termination ispredetermined as * . This DTMF signal is received by the DTMF signalreceiving circuit 81 via NCU 4, while decode data based on the DTMFsignal is supplied to CPU 20. Then the CPU 20 sends back an ACKlacknowledge signal via NCU 4. However, when not supplied with the decodedata, the CPU 20 sends back an NACK (non-acknowledge) signal. Here, itis assumed that ACK comprises a continuous tone of a predeterminedfrequency, and that the NACK comprises an intermittent tone of apredetermined frequency. In response to these tones, the operation canconfirm whether data has received or not. Then, the receiver R sends outof NSF signal, CSI signal and DIS signals. When the connection istransferred from the telephone set to the facsimile apparatus on theside of transmitter R, the transmitter T sends out the NSS signal andthe DCS signal, and thereafter the signals are transmitted and receivedaccording to the same transmission control procedure as that shown inFIG. 2a. FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the administration tableutilized for supervising the data in RAM 13 or disk 62, and the file.The administration table 101 is contained in RAM21, while file 102 iscontained in RAM 13 or disk 62. The administration table 101 ispartitioned by code data 103 representing the multiple addresscommunication, code data 104 representing the multicopy communication,code data 105 representing the substitute receiving communication, codedata 106 representing the mail box communication, and code data 109representing the single memory transmission. The single memorytransmission and the multiple address transmission may be combined intothe same code data. A flag column 107 is provided representing whetherthe processing is necessary or not. Further, a file No. data column (inthe case of the mail box communication, the box No. data is stored) isprovided for storing the file No. data of the file to be processed. WhenRAM 13 or disk 62 is accessed by utilizing the file No. data as anaddress signal, a corresponding file can be read out.

At the head of the file 102, there are page number (number ofmanuscripts), an interval to be transmitted, an interval in whichreception is made, calling station ID (dial number), the number of pagesto be recorded and outputted, a troubled page, a destination data, etc.,and the picture signal is stored in a section next to the head. Whenvarious communications including input for the multiple addresscommunication, relayed multiple address communication, multicopycommunication, a substitute reception communication, and mail boxcommunication are made, a flag of a corresponding flag column 107 is setwhile at the same time, a picture signal, etc. are stored in an idlefile for writing the file No. data of this file in a corresponding fileNo. data column 108. The CPU 20 scans the flag column 107 with apredetermined period, to read out a corresponding file No. data when theflag is set thereby accessing the file 102 based on the read out data.At the time of the multicopy communication, the CPU 20 immediatelystarts printing, at the time of the single memory communication, thecommunication starts at a designated time, while at the time of themultiple address communication (including the relayed simultaneouscommunication), the CPU 20 commences the communication at a designatedtime, if any, but where there is no time designation, it immediatelycommences communication at that time. At the time of the substitutereceiving communication and the mail box communication, the CPU 20starts printing if a predetermined operation has been made. The areas ofRAM other than the supervisory table are used as a register or a flag.

Let us now describe in detail the operation of the CPU 20 with referenceto the flow charts shown in FIGS. 4-7. The programs of these flow chartsare stored in RAM 22.

Receiving Operation

The flow chart shown in FIG. 4 shows the receiving operation. As alreadyhas been described in connection with FIG. 2, the CPU 20 is suppliedwith information representing the type of communication and necessaryinformation by an NSS signal from the facsimile apparatus of the calledparty or by a DTMF signal. Then, at steps 201, 202 and 203, judgmentsare made whether the communication is relayed multiple addresscommunication, mail box communication or multioopy communication byreferring to the information representing the type of the communicationsdescribed above. If the communication is the relayed multiple addresscommunication, at step 204, a flag in an administration table 101corresponding to the code data of the relayed multiple addresscommunication is set, and at step 209, a file No. data for storing thepicture signal is written. Then at step 205, the called party data andcalling party ID are stored in a file corresponding to the file No.data, and the DMA 14 transfers the picture signal. Where a transmissiontime data is inputted, this data is also stored in the CPU. Moreparticularly, except for the reception of the picture signal, controlsignals from modem control unit and NCU 4 are transmitted and receivedvia bus lines 40, 50 and 70 for storing necessary information in thefile. (If necessary, a route through the DTMF receiving circuit 81 andthe bus line 90 can be used). When the picture signal is received, thedecoder 10 and DMA 14 are started. Then, necessary data are transferredto DMA 14 for transferring the monopoly of the bus lines 40, 50 and 70to DAM 14, whereby DAM 14 stores a picture signal decoded and expandedby decoder 10 in the file.

At step 206, a check is made as to whether or not destination data whichprovides the addresses of parties to be called in the informationobtained by either one of the procedures described in connection withFIG. 2 contains the relaying party which relays comminication from thecalling party. When the result of check is YES, at step 207, a controlis made to perform printing based on the picture image signal in thefile. In this case, the control is transferred in DMA14, whereby ittransfers the picture image signal between RAM 13 or disk 62 and therecording unit 8 which performs printing based on the picture signal.Meanwhile, at step 208, in accordance with detection data sent from theabsence of paper and paper jam detection circuit 82, a check is made asto whether there is paper absence and paper jam or not. If there ispaper absence and paper jam, at step 209, a flag corresponding to thecode data of the substitution receiving communication stored in theadministration table 101 is set, and at step 209, the file No. data of afile in which the picture signal related to the recording output isrecorded is registered in the corresponding file No. data column.

In the case of the mail box communication, at step 201, a flag of theadministration table 101 corresponding to the code data of the mail boxcommunication for writing the received box No. data (file No. data) inthe file No. data column. Then, at step 211, information regarding afile sending office ID corresponding to the file No. data and the calledparty are stored, and DMA14 transfers the picture signal. Then,necessary information is read out from the head of the file and sent tothe pattern generating circuit 12 for generating a character pattern(picture signal) which is sent to the recording unit 8. Based on thischaracter pattern (picture signal), the recording unit 8 performsprinting. FIG. 8 shows a recording table 501 printed out. On therecording table 501 are printed a calling office data, a mail boxnumber, an address, number of total pages, and the receiving timestarting from the lefthand side. This recording table is dispatched tocalled parties.

At the time of communicating between the relayed multiple addresscommunication and the mail box communication, at step 213, a check ismade as to whether an information sent from the facsimile apparatus ofthe called party contains data representing a request of an acceptancetable or not. When the result of check is YES, at the time of completingthe receiving operation, a control signal representing transmission of apicture is sent out through the modem control unit 5 and NCU 4 byeffecting an inversion poling. After that, the program is advanced to atransmission control procedure for sending a picture signal from thefacsimile apparatus. Then, character data representing states ofacceptance (for example, all page reception, reception up to the secondpage) is sent to the pattern generating circuit 12 in accordance with apredetermined format. The character pattern (picture signal) generatedby the pattern generating circuit is sent to the encoder 11. Then, atstep 214, a picture signal encoded and compressed by the encoder 11 andrepresenting acceptance state is sent back through the modem controlunit 5, the modem 6 and the NCU 4, whereby the calling office which hasperformed relayed multiple address communication and mail boxcommunication can grasp at a glance the state of acceptance of themessage.

At the time of the multicopy communication, at step 215, a flag is setin administration table 101 corresponding to the code data of multicopy,and file No. data is written in the file No. data column adapted tostore the received picture image signal. Then, at step 216, informationregarding a calling office identification code (ID) and the number ofcopies are stored in a file corresponding to the file No. data. Afterthat, at step 217, the data corresponding to the number of copies andstored at the head of the file 102 are recorded. In other words, thecopy number data is stored in the register of RAM21 DMA 14 is startedfor effecting a control similar to that executed at step 207. However,each time a picture signal has been transferred, the CPU 20 is suppliedwith termination data from DMA14 for decrementing by 1, the data storedin the register. This operation is continued until the data is reducedto zero. Meanwhile, at step 218, a check is made as to whether there isa paper absence and paper jam state or not in the same manner as at step208. In this manner, upon completion of the printing operationcorresponding to the copy number data stored in the file without thetrouble of absence of paper and paper jam, at step 210, a flagcorresponding to the code data of the multicopy data stored in the file102 is set for invalidating a corresponding file No. data and thepicture signal, whereby the file of the invalidated file becomes idle,that is usable thereafter.

When the communication is not either one of the relayed multiple addresscommunication, mail box communication and multicopy communication, thecommunication is a normal facsimile communication. In this case, at step220, a check is made as to whether there is a paper absence and paperjam state. When there is a paper absence and paper jam state, at step221, the substitute receiving operation is executed as has beendescribed in connection with step 209. Thus, at step 222, no recondingout-put is produced, and the received picture signal is stored in aprescribed file, and a necessary administration file is prepared.Further, when it is judged that there is no paper absence and paper jamstate of step 220, at step 223, a normal facsimile receiving operationis started. For example, under the control of CPU 20, a picture signaloutputted from the encoder 10 of DMA14 is transferred directly to thebuffer memory device in the recording unit 8 which in response to thispicture signal performs printing. Meanwhile, at step 224, a check ismade as to whether there is a paper absence and a paper jam state in thesame manner as at step 208. When there is a paper absence and paper jamstate, at step 225, the substitute receiving operation of step 221 isexecuted.

While the receiving operation is being made, there is a case in whichthe following printing operation may be performed. Thus, while therelayed multiple address communication, the mail box communication andmulticopy communication are being made, where a paper absence and paperjam state is detected, light emitting diodes (LEDs) 27-32 will belighted respectively corresponding to these states.

Printing Operation

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart at the time of printing. The CPU 20 executesthe program of this flow chart not only at the time of receiving butalso even after termination of receiving.

At steps 301-304, judgments are made as to whether there is a paperabsence and paper jam state, whether printing has not been performed atthe time of the multicopy communication, and whether there is asubstituted reception or a multibox communication. When the paperabsence and paper jam state is detected, the CPU 20 controls the driver24 for lighting LEDs indicating this state of the display unit 25 forwaiting the operation of the operator. Where printing has not beenperformed at the time of the multicopy communication, at step 307,corresponding LEDs are lighted for printing out in the same manner as atstep 217. Since the contents of steps 308 and 310 are similar to thoseof steps 218 and 219 shown in FIG. 4, their description is omitted. Upondetection of the paper absence and paper jam state, corresponding LEDsare lighted. Then at the time of the invalidation processing of thepicture information or the like executed at step 210, LEDs representingthe multicopy communication are extinguished.

At the time of the substitution receiving communication, at step 311,the corresponding LEDs are lighted and at step 312, a check is made asto whether the copy switch is ON or not. More particularly, the input ofthe operating data of a switch provided for the operating unit 23 isscanned for detecting the ON state of the copy switch. When the copyswitch is not ON, the program is stopped until the switch is closedbecause the substitute receiving communication is made in the paperabsence and paper jam state. For this reason, when printing operation iscommenced without the intervention of the operator, the printing will beperformed when the paper absence and paper jam state is not removed,whereby the paper absence and paper jam state will appear again.

When the copy switch is ON, at step 313, the administration table 101 issearched and in accordance with the file No. data in which the pictureimage received by the substitute receiving communication, the pictureimage is read out of the file, and at step 314, printing is performedbased on this picture signal. The operation of CPU 20 has already beendescribed. Meanwhile, a check is made as to whether there is a paperabsence and paper jam state or not. When there is no paper absence andpaper jam state and the printing based on all picture signals have beenperformed, at step 316, a flag of the administration table regarding thesubstitution receiving communication is reset and respective data areinvalidated to extinguish LEDs representing the substitute receivingcommunication at step 317. When there occurs a paper absence and paperjam state while printing being performd in accordance with the picturesignal received under the substitute receiving condition, LEDsrepresenting this state are lighted at step 318.

In the case of the mail box communication, at step 319, LEDsrepresenting this state are lighted. Then, at step 320, the CPU 20 waitsfor the inputting of predetermined data which means the key input of aspecific number from the operating unit 23 and the data produced by theinsertion of the magnetic card in a facsimile apparatus in which amagnetic card can be read. When there is a predetermined data input, atstep 321, a check is made as to whether the predetermined data and thebox No. data in the mail box communication coincide with each other ornot. Upon coincidence, at step 322, corresponding box No. data and apicture signal of a corresponding file are read out and these signalsare transferred to the recording unit 8 by DMA 14, and at step 323,printing based on the picture signal is performed. Meanwhile, at step324, a check is made as to whether there is a paper absence and paperjam state. When there is no paper absence and paper jam state andprinting all picture image signals in the mail box communication iscompleted, at step 325, a corresponding flag of the administration tableregarding the mail box communication is reset and the data areinvalidated, so as to extinguish LEDs representing the received of themessage of the mail box communication are extinguished at step 326.Where a paper absence and paper jam state is detected during printingoperation based on picture signal received in the mail boxcommunication, LEDs representing this state are lighted. In a case shownin step 321 in which the predetermined data has been inputted but itdoes not coincide with the box No., at step 327, the driver 24 iscontrolled to cause the display unit 25 to display that there is aninput error to LCD26. When there is no paper absence and paper jam stateand the communication is not either one of the specific communicationsexecuted at steps 302-304, ordinary receiving and printing are executedat step 328. This printing operation is identical to those executed atsteps 223, 224 and 225 shown in FIG. 4.

Transmission Operation

The flow charts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 show the transmission operation.At step 401 and 402, checks are made as to whether printing is performedby the recording unit 8 (whether the operation shown in FIG. 5 is beingexecuted or not) and whether the reading is made by the read scanningunit 9. Where it is confirmed that such operations are made, thetransmission operation is inhibited until such operations are completed.Upon completion of these operations, at step 403, a check is made as towhether there is a calling request caused by a key operation of theoperating unit or whether there is a calling request (dial request)based on the designated lines data previously registered and thedestination data. When it is judged that there is a calling request,timer T is set to count an off period T₂, at step 405, the calling isdetected according to the detection of the calling signal b sent fromthe calling signal detection circuit 7 before elapse of the off periodT₂, at step 406, OFF hook is detected by the detection of the OFFdetection signal, and at step 407 a reset detection is executed by thedetection of the reset key operation input from the operating unit 23.Then, at step 408, when it is judged that there is no calling, no OFFhook and no reset input during the off period T₂, a calling operationdue to a dial request is permitted. When a calling is detected duringthe off period T₂ at step 405, at step 417, a judgment is made as towhether the program is set to the automatic receiving mode or not. Ifthe judgment is YES, at step 442, the content N of the calling numberregister, not shown, is incremented by 1. Then, at step 443, a judgmentis made as to whether the content N of the calling number register isequal to 3 or larger or not. When N is equal to 3 or larger, that is,where equal to or more than 3 callings are detected, at step 444, thecontent of the calling number register is reset to zero and then theprogram is transferred to the receiving operation described above.

Where the content N of the calling number register does not satisfy arelation N≧3, the program is returned to step 401. At step 417, when itis judged that the operating mode is not set to the automatic receivingmode, at steps 417-419, the receiving request due to receiving keyoperation of the operating unit 23 is detected while the OFF hook isbeing detected (until the talking completes) so as to judge the presenceof a receiving request. Then, the program is transferred to thereceiving operation, whereas where there is no receiving request, theprogram is returned to the initial state. At step 406, when it is judgedthat there is an OFF hook, at step 418, the receiving request isdetected while OFF hook is being detected in the same manner asdescribed hereinbefore. At step 407, when it is judged that there is areset input, the program is returned to the initial state. It should beunderstood that off period T₂ is the same as the call signal off periodT₂ shown in FIG. 9. When there is no dial request at step 403, at step441, a calling is detected by detecting the call signal b, and then theprogram is transferred to step 417.

At steps 404-408, when the calling operation is permitted as a result ofa dial request, at step 409, NCU 4 and the line 1 are connected, and atsteps 410-412, judgments are made as to whether the calling is made byeither one of the multiple address communication due to an input to acalling office and a transmission request for a signal destinationoffice in accordance with an operation input data and the data in theadministration table and file, and at step 413, error is displayed byLCD 26 when there is no calling operation and data in the administrationtable and file, thus returning to the original state. When, at steps 410and 411, it is judged that the communication is the multiplecommunication, the processing at step 421 is executed. Furthermore, whenit is judged that the transmission is made to a single destination atstep 412, it is judged as to whether or not the transmission is made forsending a picture signal stored in the disk 62. When the result ofjudgment is YES, the program is advanced to step 421 in the same manneras above described. When it is judged that the picture image is nottransmitted, at steps 414 and 415, the read scanning unit 9 obtains apicture signal of a line unit by the read scanning unit 9 during normaltransmission operation, that is, while sequentially conveying manuscriptmounted on a transmission stacker. Then, after encoding and modulation,the picture image is sent out to the line 1.

When the results of judgments executed at steps 410, 411 and 414 as towhether the communication is multiple address communication and whetherit is memory transmission are YES, at step 421, one destination data isread out from the head portion of the file based on a corresponding fileNo. data, which is supplied to the automatic dialing circuit 30 to causeit to send out a dial signal. Then, at step 422, a check is made as towhether the line is busy or not in accordance with the arrival of a busytone via the modem control unit 5 and NCU 4 for waiting a response fromthe called facsimile apparatus. At steps 423 and 424, when there is aresponse, the control signal is transmitted and received through themodel control unit 5 and NCU 4 according to the transmission andreceiving procedure, the RAM14 is started for reading out a picturesignal from a corresponding file in the RAM 13 or the disk 62 fortransmitting the read out picture signal to the encoder 11. Then, anencoded and compressed picture signal is transmitted via the modemcontrol unit 5, the modem 6 and the NCU 4. Then, at step 425, a check ismade as to whether there is a transmission error or not in accordancewith the control signal sent from the called facsimile apparatus. Whenthere is a transmission error, a page on which the error has occurred isstored as an administration data at step 426. At step 427, where picturesignals of all pages are correctly transmitted to a single destinationwithout any transmission error, at step 427, already transmitted dataare stored as the administration data.

Then, at step 428, a check is made as to whether an interruption wasmade due to the operation of the reset key of the operating unit. Moreparticularly, in this embodiment, at the time of the multiple addresscommunication, unless a transmission to destination terminates,interruption by the reset key is not permitted and a series of pages arecontinuously sent which is advantageous for supervising the copies onthe receiving side.

Then, at step 429, a check is made as to whether all pages has beentransmitted to all data destinations. When the result of check is NO, atstep 430, a check is made as to whether a predetermined number oftransmission has been made to destinations to which transmission has notyet made. Where a predetermined number of transmissions have not yetbeen made, the program is returned to step 401 to continue theoperation, whereas when the predetermined number of transmissions hasbeen completed, at step 431, printing is performed based on theadministration data. After that, at step 432, the picture signal of onepage to be transmitted to a not yet transmitted destination is read outto perform printing. If printing of the picture image and printing of anadministration data showing the not yet transmission on a single page,it is convenient for identifying first page not yet transmitted.

With this construction, where all picture signals accumulated in anaccumulator are not transmitted, the operator can acknowledge this factand know the content of the not yet sent manuscript. Furthermore,printing error can be accurately corrected, thus making it unnecessaryany retransmission. After elimination of the printing errors, correctprinting can be performed adequately after receipt of a predeterminedinput.

Respective administration data are administrated as a whole and can beoutputted automatically in the form of a single table when apredetermined data is inputted by an operator at a predetermined time ofday in accordance with a program.

As above described, according to this embodiment during the copyingoperation and while a picture signal is being inputted to disk 62, thecalling is inhibited not only during the printing operation of thepicture signal stored in the disk 62 but also at least in the definiteinterval T₂ subsequent thereto, thereby preventing "collision" ofreceiving and calling. This not only improves the efficiency of lineutilization due to a decrease in the recalling and in collision betweentransmission and receiving, but also increases the reliability andoperativity of the apparatus.

Although in the foregoing description, nothing was mentioned about theinput from operating unit 23 regarding the destination telephone numberdata that starts the automatic dialling circuit 30, input setting of thetelephone number data for the abbreviated dialling, the abbreviateddata, a plurality of destination telephone number data in a multipleaddress communication group and the group number data can be made in thesame manner as in the prior art facsimile apparatus. At the time ofsetting these data, the CPU 20 of the facsimile apparatus of thisinvention resets such mode designation states as the line density, andthe manuscript size to a predetermined home position.

A calling according to a manual dial operation input from the operatingunit 23 is the same as the prior art apparatus. A data set by a seriesof the operating inputs, for example, `03,666 1111` (telephone numberdata), `#` key input data of an input termination data is sequentiallyinputted to the automatic dialling circuit 30 through a buffer circuitfor starting the circuit 30 thereby effecting a calling. Although inthis embodiment, during the printing operation and the read outoperation, a dial request is not detected, where the processingcapability of the CPU 20 is increased, it becomes possible to detect theprinting operation and the read out operation after a dial request hasbeen detected, whereas when a picture signal from the read scanning unit9 is inputted into disk 62 or during the copying operation, after elapseof timer time T₂, a picture signal stored in the disk 62 can betransmitted.

RAM 13 and disk 62 ensure accumulation of sufficient number of picturesignals, thus enabling various functions. Moreover, as it is desirableto realize various functions for the transmission and receipt, byseparating the area for storing transmitted picture signals and the areafor storing received picture image signals (for example, one half each),it is possible to prevent received picture signals from occupying allareas thereby making it impossible to transmit. Furthermore, the CPU 20supervises the idle area capacity of the memory devoce when a stateoccurs in which only areas less than a predetermined capacity are idle,the CPU 20 does not accept mail box communication, a relayed multipleaddress communication and the own office multiple address communication.Under this state, the operator is informed by lighting of the LED fortaking adequate procedure.

When memory becomes a state in which less than a predetermined capacityare idle, the CPU does not accept a picture image signal of a ditherintermediate tone to obtain the same effect as above.

In the foregoing description, the present invention has been describedin connection with a facsimile apparatus. However, this invention is notlimited in its application to facsimile apparatus only. It can beapplied to any apparatus having a dial calling function.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus having a dial calling functioncomprising:dial means for performing a calling operation from a callingparty to a destination party selected to be called; accumulation meansfor accumulating and storing picture image signals to be transmitted toa selected destination party; means for transmitting to a selecteddestination party called, in accordance with the calling operationperformed by said dial means, the picture signals stored in saidaccumulation means; administration data forming means for formingadministration data concerning transmission of the picture image signalsstored in said accumulation means to a selected destination party;printing means; and means, responsive to the condition that all of thepicture image signals stored in the accumulation means are nottransmitted to a selected destination party called by a calling party inaccordance with the calling operation, for causing the printing means toprint the administrative data and at least part of the picture imagesignals which have not been transmitted during the calling operation, toidentify picture image signals which have not yet been transmitted to acalled selected destination party.
 2. The apparatus according to claim1, wherein said printing means prints out based on picture image signalscorresponding to one page in which administration data is compiled.